Surgeon General Jerome Adams came back from "Trump Country" with a very important message for Donald Trump, which he eagerly delivered on Thursday.
"You look badass in a facemask," Mr Adams told the president during an event at Red Cross headquarters in Washington.
His comment came after Mr Trump for months declined to wear a mask in public even during two waves of coronavirus.
He since has taken to wearing them in some settings, especially medical facilities like the Red Cross building. The president donned a mask during a tour of the headquarters on Thursday.
Mr Trump once said he preferred to skip a face covering because he did not like how he looked in one.
But in recent weeks, he has at times appeared to take a surge of cases and deaths in the Sun Belt region more seriously – though he still says the coronavirus will "disappear."
On Thursday, he spent most of his time during a roundtable at the Red Cross again listing things his administration already has done to combat the sometimes-lethal bug.
Several of his aides applauded him for embracing and encouraging mask-wearing, including Mr Adams.
